The Board
by Whisper Your Name
Summary: Please don't hate! My first fanfic! Max and the flock are in Massanutten ( All Seasons Resort )! Max and the flock are all pro snowboarders who live in and practically own the whole resort ( the perks of being Jeb Batchelder's daughter.) Can Nick Ride catch up or will he be stuck on the bunny slope? FAX! AU! No wings!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hello! This is my first fan fiction so please don't hate. I'm typically a Mylan fan but I'm going Fax with this one. Please don't ask me to kill off Maya or Dylan in some unreasonable accident because I love both of them and will give them happy things like cookies! Everything will be in Max's POV unless it says otherwise. Sorry for any OOC! **

**Also, I'm sorry for those who've never been to Massanutten. I'll try to make it less confusing but it's basically just an all seasons resort.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride, the Flock or anything to do with Massanutten **

* * *

"Done by two, Max," Dr. Martinez demands, handing me the keys to the ski lift.

"Three," I correct, backing out of the room, and allowing the crisp winter air to rush inside the Ski Lodge.

"Two thirty or I'll take the snowboard!" she calls as I rush outside to meet Iggy and Dylan at the bunny slope lift.

"Ready for the warm up, Max?" Iggy stands up, one shoe buckled to his electric blue snowboard. His long strawberry blonde hair is tucked underneath his helmet and his pale blue eyes are hidden behind copper tinted goggles.

"Ready to beat your sorry ass into next week? You bet!" I toss the keys to Dylan and he jams it into the key hole. Slowly but surely, the ski lift cranks to life and the gigantic wheel begins to turn the cable.

"Let's start this party!" Dylan whoops along with Iggy. I quickly strap a boot to my graffitied snowboard and line up beside Ig to ride up. Not ten minutes later, I rush down Diamond Jim, plowing through the snow, flanked by my two best friends, doing what I loved more than life. Snowboarding.

* * *

"What size shoes?" The teenager stands behind the counter looking extremely bored. He picks his nails and slouches so his shoulders are hunched over. Sometimes I work here, but never at the shoe rentals.

"I'm a size 4. Right, Dylan? And I'm going skiing!" Angel's blonde curls bounce as she tries to peer over the counter. The teenager just gazes blankly at Angel and trudges behind the racks to get her boots. Dylan holds his sister's hand, and smiles at her angelic face. "One day, I'm gonna snowboard like you and Max and Iggy!" she pipes, grinning widely. The bored teen reappears and shoves the crappy ski boot rentals into Dylan's arms. I lead Angel to sit at a bench while Dylan hands me a boot to put on her feet.

"So you're hanging with Ange today?" I ask Dylan, buckling the boot so it fits snug against Angel's ankles. Angel babbles on to a flustered bystander.

"Yeah," he replies and shakes his dark, honey blonde hair into his eyelashes. His cerulean blue eyes find mine. "I'll probably be on Southern Comfort the whole day. But I'll ride with you tonight?"

I nod. "Nudge and Ella are coming too." Angel scampers over to the Rental line and hops up and down like a bunny in fox den.

Dylan stands up, nodding and picking up Angel's fluffy pink Uggs and helmet. "Well, have fun, Maxie," he smiles and strides towards Angel who squeals in happiness. I smile back and head to the back of the store into the employee room. While I'm here I might as well get some work done.

Let's get some things straight before we move on. My name's Maximum. Call me Max or I'll find you and stab you in your sleep. I'm fifteen years old and I live in the Massanutten Resort. Oh the benefits of your dad owning the Ski Slope. Of course I don't ski though. How incredibly boring. I snowboard and I have been for almost ten years now. My father is Jeb Batchelder. He pretty much own all of Massanutten. Pretty sweet. And that gives me and the flock, pretty much unlimited access to everything on the mountain. The Flock is what my friends and I call ourselves. There's Iggy Griffiths who is pretty much the coolest guy ever and his brother Gazzy (don't ask). Iggy was a pretty tall guy with strawberry blond hair. He's color blind so I suggest you don't shove anything red or green in his face. He tries not to let it bother him and sometimes you just forget 'cause he's so funny and sarcastic. Then there's Dylan Martinez. Dylan and I are pretty much the leaders of the flock, of course he's after me. We've been friends since as long as I can remember. Just recently our parents have started dating. Talk about awkward.

Next we have the more mellow members of the flock. Monique "Nudge" Williams is the only one of us who doesn't snowboard or ski, but we still consider her part of the gang. And holy chocolate chips, that girl can talk! She can go from IHOP to Rihanna in 0.2 seconds flat on a can of Mountain Dew. Ella Martinez, Dylan's sister, doesn't snowboard but she skis. Gazzy says its because she's too afraid but it doesn't faze her. Did I mention her huge, and obvious crush on Iggy? Angel is Dylan's other, younger sister. She isn't really part of the flock "officially" but she's so sweet, she has a guaranteed spot.

I take off my jacket in the back room as Nudge walks into the room behind me. "Hi Max! Did you see that girl who fell off the ski lift? She broke her leg and a helicopter just came to pick her up! OMG! You see? That's exactly why I don't snowboard with you guys! It's extremely dangerous and scary!"

I smile and slap a hand over her mouth. "Breathe!" I tell her and she looks at me with eager, sparkling eyes.

I let go and she takes a huge breath. "Did you see the new guy come in here?" She asks me excitedly.

I raise my eyebrow at her incredulously, "We're at a ski resort, Nudge. There's always new people."

She shakes her head animatedly and tries to pull me out the door. Of course me being 5'6'' prevented her from doing anything too bad. "No, Max! This guy is _new_ _new_! I've never seen him from anywhere and he's so flipping _gorgeous_! He's so tall and handsome! Try and fit his skis or something!"

Nudge tries pushing me instead and I scoff. "I'm not going to fit his skis to get his number. I'm Maximum Batchelder. I do not need a number from anyone." Of course, being the pushover I am, I walk to the counter anyways. I swipe a can of Mountain Dew from the table before I walk into the smell of feet and snow. "I don't see anyone," I tell Nudge as she pushes the person beside me away to take their spot.

"Hurry, Max! Call him over before someone else does!" Nudge leans over the counter and looks around. I roll my eyes as she shouts, "Over here!"

I instantly regret coming here as a guy strides over, fitted in warm, black snow gear and tailed by a girl my age who is carrying a white and pink splattered snowboard. I pop open the can and gulp down a mouthful coolly, not taking my eyes off him as the guy silently slides his forms over the counter. He really is handsome. He's taller than me, probably a little less than six feet. Long locks of dark hair spill over his eyes and- his eyes. No! Bad Max! I clear my throat and play it cool. "Well, you're obviously snowboarding. Do you know what size?" I ask him, proud that my voice doesn't shake or wobble.

"Uhm..." He mumbles. The girl part of me wants to giggle adoringly and the reasonable, Max side wants to roll my eyes and call him an idiot. "Maya?" He asks turning to the girl behind him.

"170." She says walking up to stand beside him.

I narrow my eyes and size him up. Yep. That'd be too big if he's a beginner, which I'm assuming he is. "How tall are you?" I ask him.

"5'10"," he says quietly. His obsidian eyes seek out mine underneath his dark curtain of soft, black-_bad Max_!

I shake my head at his friend, "Maya". "He's a beginner, right?" She nods narrowing her eyes. "Then that'd be a little too big, and harder for him to ride. I'll give him a 160," I say already turning around to find the right board. I can practically hear Maya seething because I contradicted her. It sucks for her if she wants to give her boyfriend a broken arm. I pull out a dark colored board to match his outfit a little better than the blue ones and place it on the counter. "Regular or goofy?" I ask him.

The guy rubs his neck uncomfortably and I roll my eyes. I usually have to do this with beginners. I sigh and hop over the counter. Maya and the guy both look at me weird until I push the guy away, hard. "Nick!" Maya gasps and turns to glare at me. Nick, who hasn't even fallen over, throws out his right foot to catch himself. He turns to glare at me so hard, I force myself to look away.

Nudge, who has been quiet and watching the whole time, jumps up and shouts, "Goofy!"

I jump the counter again and grab the bindings and put them in the goofy position. "What the hell was that?" Nick growls angrily.

I sigh over dramatically. "Regular is snowboarding with your left foot in the front binding and goofy is with your right in front. If you don't know that, I suggest you stick with skiing on the bunny slope, dip-wad," I say in a mono-tone voice.

Nick slams his hand on the counter making me look up and glare at him. He stares back angrily. "You wait until I report this to your boss," he threatens.

Nudge and I start laughing at this poor guy who has no idea who my boss is. Maya looks at us weirdly and Nick steps back, thoroughly confused. I wipe a fake tear from my eye and say very seriously, "My boss is my dad. So good luck with that, Nick." I draw out his name in a sneer but I don't get a reaction out of him. Before I hand him the snowboard, I turn the front binding, straight and not slightly crooked like it should be. Then I hand is to him sweetly. "Have a nice day."

Maya gives me a wicked look before exiting the shop behind Nick. As soon as they leave, Nudge's mouth drops open. "You just- you-"

"Yes I did," I confirm. I turned the binding to see how well he rides. Like a test. Maybe, just maybe, I'm considering Nick to be in the Flock.

Nudge shakes her head like she has water in her ear. "He didn't even know what "regular or goofy" meant! I bet his girlfriend doesn't even know how to board!"

"Okay, okay. Let's just wait and find out." I move back to the employee room. "Let's find Iggy and watch him from the Lodge. I bet he'll be taking lessons and we'll be able to see."

* * *

"No effing way," Nudge gasps looking out the window. We just plopped into our private lounge. Again- the perks. The small studio above the Ski Lodge serves as the Flock's private hangout aka the Nest. I know, I know. I wanted to change the name but Gazzy and Iggy were set on naming it the Nest. And so it stuck. Cue pissed face.

It isn't that big anyway. Big enough for a flat screen TV, a love seat, couple bean bags, and some empty space to the side for our boards and gear. Not to mention that we sleep here sometimes.

"What?" I ask tying up my boring brown hair into a messy bun.

Nudge is staring out at the teaching slope and pointing to a group off to the side, sitting on the snow, legs extended and one foot blinded to their boards. She points to one of the figures. "That's Nick, in the black North Face Jacket."

I squint hard and see the distinctive long hair and angular face. "Holy chocolate chips, so what?"

Nudge looks at me like I'm the dumbest person on Earth. "That's Iggy!"

"Why the hell is Iggy taking lessons?" I say confused. Then I look closer and see the students circled around that color blind idiot. "Oh, Nudge, I'm gonna go see if Igs needs some help with all those kids." Nudge squeals excitedly and whips out her phone, probably sending Ella a picture. I leave Nudge with her phone and slide to the back of the room and pull on my white snow pants and red North Face jacket. I lean down to pick up my snow board and slide down the swirly stairs leading down behind the members lounge area. For my fourteenth birthday last year I had gotten a customized snowboard from the Flock. It has everyone's name signed on it in electric colors and bizarre handwriting and even paint ball splatters.

I walk outside in front of the Teaching slope and I pull on my white helmet and dark tinted goggles. The sun shines brightly off the snow and chilly breezes blow it off the ground. I trudged onto the slope and towards Iggy's group. "Shift your weight on your toes!" He yells and then pushes a student to a start. They go about four yards and then pull to a shaky stop. Iggy turns to the next nervous kid and then sees me. "Hey, Maxie-poo!"

I bump his fist, grinning as the kids stare at me awkwardly. "I just felt like helping you out today, pretty big group."

Iggy smirks at me like he doesn't believe me and I grin back and start strapping on my snowboard. "Guys, this is Max. She loves chocolate chip cookies and Mountain Dew and she's gonna help me teach you the basics, 'Kay?" Iggy gets a few grunts and mutters in response as I stand up. I spot Nick staring at me from the back end of Iggy's line. I smirk at him as Iggy tells me, "How about you show them the Magic Carpet as I send 'em down?"

I nod and skate down to the bottom and stop with a toe side turn and gaze up to them. I give him a thumbs up and he send the first kid down, a girl with a blue snow suit and green jacket **(A/N that's me!)**. I steady her as she stops shakily on her heels. "Don't make the moves to extreme," I advise. "Skate up to the carpet and let it pull you up. Don't linger at the top or else the people behind you will get stopped up." She nods and the cycle continues until the last student, Nick, is sent down the slope. His stance is almost perfect; his knees bent slightly, shoulders straight and even. But he puts too much weight on his toes and falls to his knees and flips over. I can't stop the smile on my face as I skate over and help him up. He scowls and pushes my hand away but can't get up. By now, Iggy and the others have started another exercise and Nick's face is flushed pink. He pulls himself to his feet but falls backwards instantly. I can't hold it in and let out a mean laugh. Nick glares at me but I can't take him seriously because of the blush in his cheeks.

"Are you sure you don't want to ski? Southern Comfort is full of beginners who won't laugh at at you," I smirk.

Nick laughs sarcastically and glares at me. "If Maya can snowboard, then it can't be that hard." He reasons.

"Your girlfriend is just more talented than you are, dip-stick," I scoff.

He tries to get up and then looks at me pityingly. "Maya's not my girlfriend. She's my sister." Now it's his turn to laugh.

"Oh," is all I saw and the smirk on Nick's face is enough to turn me nasty again. "Fine then. Get off your butt and let's get back up to Iggy before I get him fired." I pull Nick roughly to his feet and shove him in front of me onto the conveyor belt. Going against the rules, I slide up right behind him just to annoy the guy at the top.

Nick turns around to look at me weird. "Why do you call him Iggy?"

I stare at him like he just asked me why are chocolate chip cookies best when dipped in Mountain Dew? Why? Because they just _are_. "Because that's his name, dip-stick."

He winces at the nickname but asks, "But why Iggy?"

I shrug. "Because that's what we call him."

"We?" Nick opens his mouth, about to ask more but he stumbles as the lift drops him onto the snow.

The guy chuckles at me. "How many times do I have to tell you, Max?"

"Too many," I say sweetly, shoving Nick in front of me towards Iggy.

"Does everyone here know you?" He mutters, dragging his snowboard over.

"Pretty much."

**A/N Look, I'm gonna be really nice (not really) and say 3 review until next chapter? Maybe less? **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N One word: Sorry.**

Nick scoots on his butt the rest of the way over to Iggy while I slide easily beside him. "Is my ankle supposed to be killing me?" he asks Iggy, wrestling his binding off and rotating his foot. I smirk to myself. It's no doubt Iggy will notice my slight change to Nick's snowboard.

Iggy stops helping another student balance down the slope and kneels down to examine the board. He puts his foot on the board and immediately feels the difference. His eyes widen for a nanosecond and then return to their cool look. "Who put the bindings on?" He asks, already eye-balling me suspiciously.

I stick my tongue out at him as Nick answers, "Max."

Iggy shrugs and kicks the snowboard back. It slides easily across the snow and stops at Nick's heels. "There's nothing wrong with it. If your feet aren't used to bending and supporting your weight for a long time your ankles might be a bit sore. The board is fine but if you want, after class I'll re-adjust the bindings for you."

Nick shakes his head, standing up and brushing snow off his pants. "That's okay. My sister said I might be a little sore." As Iggy turn away, Nick glances back to me. "Are you sure you didn't mess up my snowboard just because I got mad at you this morning?"

"What?" I exclaim hotly. "Now why would I do that? I honestly didn't even think I would see you again until you'd turn the board back in!" Nick just flashes me a small smirk before scooting into Iggy's line.

* * *

The rest of the class goes by smoothly and at the end, Iggy asks Nick if he would want to continue on to the next class, as he was the only one who was good enough to do so. He agrees and signs up for an evening class the following day. I walk him to the Rental Building. It's a Sunday night so the slope is closing early. The sky burns bright pink and orange as Nick turns to me. "So, thanks for all the extra tips and stuff."

I shrug like its no big deal and a cloud of breath escapes my mouth. "No problem. Um, where are you staying?" I don't mean to sound like a creeper but if he joins the flock, he has to have easy access to the slopes in the wee hours of the night.

Nick gives me a weird look. "Mountainside Villas. Why? Are you asking me out?"

I face flushes bright red and he start laughing. "No! You cocky jerk!" I cross my arms. "Maximum Batchelder does not 'ask someone out'! If someone wants me bad enough, they ask me!" Nick just smirks. "I was wondering if you and your sister would want to _hang out_ later tonight but I see that my invitation has been declined."

I jut out my lip, pouting playfully, unable to keep a small smile off my lips. Nick takes a deep breath, smiling at me. "No, that's okay. I'll accept but," he pauses and scrunches up his nose cutely. Face palm. "The slope is closing. We can meet you tomorrow-"

"Do you know how BUSY the slopes will be tomorrow?" I cut him off. "Listen Nicky, I am the best boarder on the mountain. I rule the slope. I pretty much decide the fate of all people on this hill! So therefore, I decide when the slopes are open and when they're not."

"No you don't," Nick scoffs. "The slopes close at five. The lights turn off at six. There's no way you can sneak in either. And about the 'best rider on the hill' thing," he rests his chin coolly on the tip of the snowboard. "I bet Maya can beat you down one of your diamond slopes."

"Is that a challenge?" I narrow my eyes. No way that girl can beat me! I own these slopes! I know them like the _front _of my hand! "Fine then," I put my hands on my hips and raise my eyebrows. "If you think Maya can beat me, meet me tonight at ten on the ski lodge deck." Nick's face is impassive as I shake my finger. "Don't you dare be late."

* * *

"Max!" Angel flew up the tiny spiral staircase into the Nest where Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy and I are watching some Snowboarding X-Games. I turn my head to the small, arched door as Angel flings it open a cannons into me.

"Angel!" Gazzy exclaims. She practically sits on his lap as she babbles incoherently to me about her day. Iggy screams in despair at the TV and Gazzy whines in disappointment, looking over Angel's blond corkscrews. Nudge shrieks as Iggy throws popcorn in the air. Normal Flock chaos.

Dylan walks in right after Iggy changes the channel. His cheeks are rosy and a thin layer of snowflakes hasn't melted into his hair yet. He sets down his snowboard and strips off his jacket. I untangle myself from Angel and she absentmindedly turned to Gazzy and continued her one-sided conversation. "Guess what?" I tell Dylan as he slips off his wet snowsuit. "I invited some newcomers on the slope!"

Dylan gives me an exhausted look, but I know he'd rather die than miss a night of snowboarding. "Who?"

"Oh, just this extremely smexilicious hottie we met in the Rental Lodge!" Nudge interrupts.

My face flushes and Dylan chuckles. "What she meant to say was Nick and his sister, Maya. Apparently,"

L I pause to whack Iggy in the head and turn the TV off. "Angel can't watch that, you idiot! Apparently, Nick thinks his sister can snowboard better than I can."

Gazzy barks laughter. "Who does she thinks she is?"

Dylan crosses his arms. "What were you doing with Nick? What was he doing with you?"

Iggy makes an airplane noise, "Look out! Here comes the protective and or jealous best friend!" Gazzy makes a bomb noise and the two of them giggle like little school girls.

Dylan frowns. "I'm not jealous."

I roll my eyes. "There's no need to get all protective, Dyl. We just talked. I gave him some tips and walked him to the lodge. Then he got all, 'I bet Maya can beat you' and all that crap."

"Yeeah, okay," Nudge drawls disbelievingly.

"When are they coming?" Gazzy asks, eager to get in the snow.

"Ten. They're going to meet us on the deck."

Dylan scoffs and stalks over to the mini-fridge. He leans down, picks up a can of Sierra Mist (No Mountain Dew? D:) and takes a long swig. "I bet they'll be too darn chicken to show up."

* * *

And that's how we spent the next two hours betting on whether or not they'd show up. Of course, being the excitable teenagers we are (and one six year old), after a Paranormal Activity movie we were scared poop-less and ready for some action.

After we drop Angel off at home, we head back to the slope and lounge in the cold on the deck.

Iggy pretends to sigh and look at a watch that isn't there. "Eff you," I snap. They were coming. Right? Nick wouldn't show me up. Or had I just been played?

After a few more moments of silence, Dylan spoke up. "Max, I don't think they're coming-"

Right on cue. Just like in the movies, Nick and Maya can be heard stomping on the wooded walkway up to the deck. But someone else is with them. "I told you they'd wait," Ella brags. "Max is too desperate to lose."

"Do you want to 'loose' all your hair in the middle of the night?" I threaten playfully. She sticks her tongue out. I turn to Nick who hasn't changed much since I last saw him. "So you came," I nod coolly.

"So I did." He answers briskly. I grin at him and turn to Maya who looks at me blankly. She holds her snowboard in one arm and her helmet is perched, unstrapped, atop her head. "Maya accepts your challenge." He says.

"So let's get started." I say. I'm eager to show this chick, who I barely know, that I can beat her no sweat.

I rub my hands together as Dylan recites some rules. "No shoving or tripping each other. Stay on the path; no shortcuts. You guys will race down Diamond Jim and into Southern Comfort. The finish line is at Ski Lift Four. Iggy and Gazzy will be the referees. They'll follow you down the hill. Questions?"

Maya raises her hand. "Why are we doing this again?"

"Scared?" I taunt.

Maya scowls at me. "No. But I didn't ask to sneak out at ten at night to stand in the freezing wind. Besides we both know who'd win."

"Me," we say at the exact same moment. She whips her head around to glare at me. "And that's why we're racing," I say pointedly. I wasn't worried about losing. Heck no.

Maya huffs and a cloud of her breathe disperses in my face.

"No kissing on the slope you two," Iggy shakes his finger at us.

Oh gosh.

On the ski lift, Iggy and I sit in front of Gazzy and Maya. Unlike the comfortable silence that Iggy and I were sitting in, Gazzy and Maya were talking animatedly about things I couldn't hear. They look like best friends. I turned around and studied Maya. She looks a lot like me. Her face is rounder though and her nose is smaller. Her hair is long, a little bit past her shoulder blades. It's streaked hot pink and she has it in a messy bun. She, unlike me, already has her board strapped to one foot. She rides regular, like me so one of us will have their back to the other. Gazzy bursts into laughter and Maya smiles so big I think I go blind for a second. I feel a twinge of dislike towards her. Gazzy seems to like her. What if he wants her to win instead? What if she joins the Flock and replaces me? We look so alike I don't think anyone will notice! They'll kick me out and my access to midnight rides will be taken away! Will Dylan support her or me? She's so much more nice than I am. I can't match that! What if the flock wants a nice Max!?

Iggy pokes me for the who knows how many-inth time. "We're almost at the top."

I breathe in and force my anxiety down in my stomach. A new fierce ambition replaces it. As we slide up, I stand up. Iggy pulls me off to the side and I almost forget that Maya and Gazzy already have their snowboards on. They can't walk off the lift. I watch Maya as she slides down the small hill and turns a bit to the slope. Details race through my mind. It looks like she can ride goofy _and_ regular which means she can do a 180 turn. She bends her knees a little too much on the turn and stops with a heel turn.

Iggy and I walk over and we all strap our boards to our feet, Gazzy goofy, and stand up. Maya and I line ourselves up to the slope and Iggy moves to my side a few feet away, giving me a lot of space to do what I do. Gazzy is on Maya's side.

When Iggy yells start, I hop a little and start moving. Iggy is behind me, ready to move in case something happens. Maya has a look of deep concentration and keeps a wide berth of me. I can't lie, she rides _really _well. Almost as good as me, I realize. I make my turns bigger and pull myself into the lead. As we near the middle of the slope, I stop swerving and the ground begins to even out. Maya is about a yard behind me and the gap still grows wider.

Iggy and Gazzy move to the side of us and use the newfound space. We near the edge of the bunny slope. Let me just say, we aren't slowing down like it's required in the daytime, so we're going _fast_. Little did I know, someone else was on the slope with us. At the top of the bunny slope, the two black diamond paths meet up. Usually, we have the whole ski mountain all to ourselves but did I mention that I have a brother who adores snowboarding possibly more than I do? I see Ari before Maya does because I'm in the lead.

Ari's eyes widen and he slows down to look back at his own friends. I turn just in time to see one of Ari's snowboard buddies collide into Maya. Imagine going 50 miles per hour on a twisty mountain road, and then crashing into and 18-wheeler. Yeah. Ari is 21. His friends aren't going to be 60 pound eight year olds.

The guy gets off lucky and ends up falling behind Maya, barely missing her. She isn't so lucky and rolls into Gazzy who hasn't slowed down in time. The scene is horror. Ari's mouth is open in shock and his hands run repeatedly though his hair. His other friend looks pretty much the same, but he's fighting to get his snowboard off. Iggy reacts immediately. He pulls his binding apart with lightning speed and bolts to Maya first who is writhing and screaming in pain. Gazzy is closer to me and is knocked out, probably with a concussion.

It takes me a moment to realize that Iggy is shouting at me to get Dylan. I turn stunned and begin to slide downhill before I realize that I have a walkie-talkie in my hand. Iggy must have given it to me. I bring it to my lips. "Dylan," I say shakily.

He answers so calmly that I want to scream before I remember that he has no idea what's going on. "Are you winning?" He asks excitedly. A huge wave of nausea hits me as I realize, YEAH.

"Dylan, help. Maya's hurt and Gazzy is unconscious." I barely feel the hot tears roll down my face. _Was this my fault_?

There is a moment of silence. I hear Dylan's response but don't process it because I'm too busy listening to Nick's outburst in the speaker. "What the hell did you do to her!?" He screams. He sounds just like Maya.

Somewhere in the back of my head I hear Dylan say, "We're coming." There's too much. Too much noise. Maya's screaming and sobbing. Iggy's coos as he tries to get her snowboard off. Gazzy's incoherent mumbles as he wades in and out of unconsciousness. I numbly pull my snowboard off and walk to Ari. The tears are still coming and he wraps me in his arms as he speaks to our dad who speaks to the 911 operator.

I hear the ambulance and helicopter as the rest of the Flock appears over the hill. Nick and Dylan's mouths drop. Nick gives out a strangled cry and wastes no time in going to Maya. Dylan shakes himself out of a daze and walks to Gazzy. Nudge and Ella just stand there in shock as Nick glares long and hard at me. _This is all your fault_, his eyes say.

I force myself to look away. The sassy, sarcastic Max is long gone. I'm terrified and ashamed. I wanted to race, to prove Nick wrong. It was Ari's turn for his friends to snowboard tonight. I forgot. And Maya and Gazzy paid the price. _This is all my fault_.

**A/N Thank you to all my reviewers! Thank you so much! The feeling is indescribable! :D**


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